We invite you to come along and join us for our 2018 Annual General Meeting. Following the formalities, we have three special guest speakers who will discuss partnerships in best practice. Allison Willis from HCA will talk about the Northern Adelaide Local Health Network Consumer and Community Engagement Project, followed by Grant Phelps from Central Adelaide Local Health Network, who will speak about our partnership on the Consumer and Community Engagement Strategy from the perspective of the Local Health Network. The final speaker, Lily Griffin, a consumer from the Women’s and Children’s Health Network will speak about the outcome of working in partnership with HCA on consumer and community engagement by looking at the recent evaluation. Following the meeting we invite you to join the Board and Staff members for nibbles and networking.

The Health and Community Services Complaints Commissioner (HCSCC) has launched the first edition of its quarterly HCSC Connect newsletter. This newsletter provides a summary of activities the Commissioner has been involved in over the quarter, along with some statistics reflecting the nature of complaints received and the method in which they were lodged. You can view the first edition here. If you would like to sign up to receive the quarterly newsletter email info@hcscc.sa.gov.au.

Participants sought for supported
decision-making study

The Aged Rights Advocacy Service (ARAS) is seeking volunteers to participate in a national study on supported decision-making. Supported decision-making refers to help for a person who has difficulty making decisions due to some reduced mental capacity, but can make decisions with assistance. Reduced capacity can be anything that makes decision-making difficult, It could be a diagnosis such as dementia, a mental illness, brain injury following a stroke or accident, or anything else that makes decision-making difficult. Capacity can be fluctuating or static. ARAS invites people who have some level of reduced mental capacity to be involved in the study. It will involve a series of face-to-face interviews which can be conducted at a venue of choice – at the ARAS office in the city, at the person’s home or another venue. If you are interested and would like to participate contact Annelise van Deth at ARAS on (08) 8232 5377.

This event is about the importance of providing mental health services for people who are affected by cancer. There are two guest speakers who are specialists in the field of cancer and mental health. Prof Maggie Watson will discuss Psycho-oncology as a way of improving mental health and quality of life for people affected by cancer. The second guest speaker, Dr Lisa Beatty, will discuss the development of a psychosocial intervention in close consultation with women with metastatic breast cancer, clinicians, breast cancer experts, researchers and peak advocacy organisations. This presentation will summarise the steps and challenges involved in adapting and developing complex psychosocial web-based interventions using a co-creation design process. You can view the event flyer for more information here.

The Uluru Statement and the end of history

Friday 16 November 20186.00pm Adelaide Convention Centre

The 21st Annual Hawke Lecture is to be delivered by award winning Australian journalist and writer Stan Grant. In this lecture Stan outlines how the Uluru Statement represents a chance to tell Australia’s story anew, to tell the truth of a nation that has its roots tens of thousands of years before the landing of the First Fleet. He says the rejection of the Uluru Statement is a moment lost, a moment that could have completed Australian liberalism. You can find out more and register here.

Royal Adelaide Hospital Research Showcase Day

Thursday 22 November 20181.30pm – 5.00pmRoyal Adelaide Hospital

The Royal Adelaide Hospital (RAH) is hosting the inaugural RAH research showcase. This event will give the public an opportunity to hear from world-class researchers about the latest research being undertaken at the RAH.Topics covered include:

The National Women’s Strategy for 2020 to 2030 is being developed by the Australian Government Department of Health with assistance from Jean Hailes for Women’s Health. The purpose of this consultation is to seek broader stakeholder and community feedback on the Draft Strategy. The diverse perspectives, experience and knowledge of all stakeholders and interested members of the community are valued and respected and will contribute to the development of the final Strategy. Feedback on the Draft Strategy is sought through an online survey. You can find out more here.

Establishing a National Men's Health Strategy for 2020 to 2030

Closes: Friday 5 November 2018

The National Men’s Health Strategy 2020 to 2030 is being developed by the Australian Government Department of Health with assistance from Andrology Australia. Interested parties are invited to provide comment on the Draft Strategy via an online consultation questionnaire, which can be accessed through the Department of Health's Consultation Hub. The diverse perspectives, experience and knowledge of all stakeholders and health care professionals, researchers, community and non-government organisations, all levels of government, industry and business, and key priority populations will inform the development of the Strategy. You can find out more here.

Pregnancy Care Clincial Practice Guidelines Review

Closes: Thursday 15 November 2018

The Pregnancy Care Guidelines are designed to support Australian maternity services to provide high quality, evidence-based antenatal care to healthy pregnant women. They are intended for all health professionals who contribute to antenatal care including midwives, obstetricians, general practitioners, practice nurses, maternal and child health nurses, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander health workers and allied health professionals. This consultation is seeking feedback as part of a review of selected topics under the Pregnancy Care Guidelines. The topics included in this consultation are:

The Repat Consultation Report was released yesterday, Tuesday 30 October 2018. Over 1500 members of the community participated in the community and stakeholder process. The report outlines the services the community identified as priorities for a revitalised Repat Health Precinct. The community identified priorities include brain, spinal and community rehabilitation, enduring mental health, day surgery procedures and care transition. While the final concept plan is yet to be developed, the public’s feedback demonstrated the community’s strong view that the Repat site needed to be reactivated as a health precinct to take pressure off the health system, with a focus on services supporting the elderly and frail. The final master plan will be released in early 2019. You can find out more here.

South Australian Cancer Screening Campaign is launched

Adelaide Primary Health Network, in partnership with Cancer Council SA and Country SA Primary Health Network, has launched a new campaign to encourage South Australians to get screened for cancer. The campaign, which features the tagline “get screened and get on with living”, focuses on the euphoric feeling that you get after you’ve completed your screening test and everything comes back okay. It’s about celebrating life as opposed to focusing on the fear and negative feelings which deter people from completing a screening test. You can find out more on the campaign website here.

Updated Guideline for the management of knee and hip osteoarthritis

Royal Australian College of General Practitioners (RACGP) has updated its Guideline for the management of knee and hip osteoarthritis. The Guideline outlines changes to best practice for managing patients suffering knee and hip osteoarthritis, including new ways to diagnose and manage the illness, aiming to reduce over-reliance on measures such as surgery, imaging technology and medication. You can find out more here.

Nutrition across the life stages

The Australian Institute of Health and Welfare has released a report on nutrition across the life stages. The purpose of this report is to investigate the adequacy of the Australian diet across various life stages, to help inform the evidence-base in relation to nutrition-related health determinants for chronic conditions. It brings together the latest available data from a variety of sources, including some previously published results, and also includes new analysis such as reporting by socioeconomic status and remoteness. It demonstrated that Australians of all ages generally:

do not eat enough of the five food groups - vegetables, fruit, grains, meat and alternatives, and dairy products and alternatives

eat too much food that is high in energy and low in nutrients (‘discretionary food’)